BCEAO Authorises 175 Institutions for West Africa’s Interoperable Instant Payments System
The composition of the list also shows that the PI-SPI ecosystem extends beyond traditional banks. It includes electronic money institutions, fintech companies and microfinance institutions, alongside commercial and regional banks.
The Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) has published a new list of 175 institutions and payment service providers authorised to open services on the Platform for Interoperable Instant Payment System (PI-SPI) to the public.
The list, published on September 30, 2026, covers all eight member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Senegal has the highest number of authorised participants with 43, followed by Côte d’Ivoire with 38, Burkina Faso with 20, Mali with 19, Benin with 18, Togo with 17, Niger with 13 and Guinea-Bissau with seven.
The composition of the list also shows that the PI-SPI ecosystem extends beyond traditional banks. It includes electronic money institutions, fintech companies and microfinance institutions, alongside commercial and regional banks.
In Senegal, the authorised participants include Wave Digital Finance, Orange Mobile Finance, Djamo SN, Julaya, Mixx Senegal, Touchpoint Financial Services, Baobab, Cofina, UM-ACEP and UM-PAMECAS, as well as major banking institutions. Côte d’Ivoire’s list includes Orange Money, Wave Côte d’Ivoire, MTN Money, Moov Money, Djamo, Julaya, Sycapa and Paymetrust.
Other markets have also recorded participation from major digital finance providers. In Mali, for example, authorised participants include Sama Money, Moov Money and Orange Mobile Finance Mali, while Niger’s list includes Airtel Money Niger and i-Futur. The lists across the eight countries combine banks with mobile money operators, fintechs and microfinance providers.
The PI-SPI system is designed to enable instant transfers and payments between accounts held with different participating institutions, including bank accounts and electronic money wallets. The expansion of authorised participants therefore broadens the range of financial institutions and payment providers that can connect to the interoperable instant payment ecosystem.
Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire account for 81 of the 175 authorised participants, representing more than 46% of the total list. Their relatively large participation highlights their role in the initial rollout of the PI-SPI ecosystem across the WAEMU region.
The distribution of authorised participants is Senegal (43), Côte d’Ivoire (38), Burkina Faso (20), Mali (19), Benin (18), Togo (17), Niger (13) and Guinea-Bissau (7).
